Cho
by Teroglahn
Summary: The tales Occuring before and during Riven about the Rivenese guard known by Cyan as Cho, whose constant mistakes lead to the fall of Gehn and the destruction of Riven. Spoiler Alert
1. The Promotion

Disclaimer: All characters except for Cho, Gehn, Atrus, and Catherine (Katran) belong to me. Everything else belongs to Cyan.  
  
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"Now, put your hand on the book. If the link is successful, I will follow you immediately."  
  
The Rivenese man stared at the Gateway Image. It was pitch black, like what all Linking Books have when they never have been used before. Who knew what was behind this black barrier?  
  
Perhaps he would link into a paradise? There was a possibility that he would disappear, then reappear into a scenic land with gentle, rolling hills and clear blue skies. Maybe he would be emerge into an Age exactly like Riven, except a bit more stable. He would give a great deal to make his home stable!  
  
"What's holding you, servant? A Book is a Book! A Link is a Link! What's the worst that could happen?"  
  
What was the worst that could happen? He had many ideas of what "the worst" was. Maybe his master would just forget him, and leave him in exile from his home for all of eternity. Maybe he would link into a land filled with poisonous elements, and he would die a painful death. Then, if he returned, his entire people would be wiped out by the plague he would bring. Who knows? And worst of all, if he linked, maybe he would remain in the dark void shown in the Gateway Image, and would be trapped there forever?  
  
"I ORDER YOU TO LINK! If you don't, I will FEED YOU TO THE WHARKS!"  
  
The man cringed in fear of his master, who was now furious. He bowed, trying to contain his fear, and said, "I shall obey your orders, my lord Gehn."  
  
  
  
He then slowly extended his arm to the Book Gehn was holding. The subject closed his eyes as he placed his palm on the Image and...  
  
  
  
Nothing happened.   
  
No tingling feeling in his palm.   
  
No sickening lurch.   
  
No feeling of being of the page growing suddenly large.  
  
No sensation of melting and being taken over by blackness.  
  
Nothing.  
  
Gehn sighed, "Back to the drawing board. Again," as he tossed what should have been his 171st Age into the furnace; the same fate as Ages 38 thru 170.  
  
Cho also sighed. Of course, he was glad for not having to enter a strange, new realm. Unlike his master, he wouldn't mind if he was bound to Age 5- he was until Gehn arrived, and he liked it! However, this meant waiting in horror until Gehn had him attempt a link into another Age. Cho did not know why Gehn had him do this week after week, month after month, and year after year. All of Gehn's Ages were doomed to fail.  
  
"Age 171," muttered Gehn as he lit the furnace, "Length: 11", Width 8", Height: 1". Ink made of the fluids of 2-year-old beetles, and paper made of tanned bark. Failed.  
  
Gehn turned to face his loyal, yet constantly-failing subject, Cho. He asked, "Has anything noteworthy occurred lately?"  
  
"Well," began Cho. He hated speaking in D'ni for so long to accomplish these reports. Why couldn't his master be a bit more kind and learn to speak Rivenese? "You already know of Lineh's induction into the Guild of Surveyors- the ceremony is next week. Also, Silat, from the Guild of Educators, has rejected using the model of a warhk sacrifice to teach numbers. So, our officials have imprisoned her and with your permission- talk about irony!- she will be fed to the wahrks sometime between tomorrow and the end of the month. And concerning the Moiety..."  
  
"Ah, yes," interrupted Gehn, his frown increasing, "Is there any news concerning my sorry-excuse-for-enemies, the Moiety?"  
  
"You see," continued Cho, "The Moiety has continued on its pattern of vandalism and theft. Missing furniture here, a painting of you desecrated there- Guildsman Erilis is still recovering from when he fell off one of the bridges a rebel sabotaged. However, one of their tactics found most annoying by all five Guilds is throwing rocks into the Fissure plateau cage, which throws down the bars and distracts nearby Guildsmen, allowing them to sneak away."  
  
The Fissure Plateau Cage was neatly designed so that it would trap anyone as soon as they linked there. This Cage was meant for Atrus and Katran, of course, but why would they even think of returning? They probably had the Riven Descriptive Book locked away, or even burned!  
  
"Still," continued Cho, "This is nothing we cannot handle. So far, we have caught and killed around 35. We imprisoned many more, but they all have mysteriously escaped."  
  
"Excellent," said Gehn, "You're free to go," as he unlocked the door leading to the Maglev to Survey Island. Cho, of course, was ready to take the usual path home: he would simply take the Maglev to Survey Island, then take another Maglev to Jungle Island. But there was one thing he still wanted to do. First he would state a general fact, then he would inch his master until he got to the point.  
  
"Well," Gehn snapped, "I said you could go. What do you want, lad?"  
  
Cho despised being called "lad." He was in his late 30's. He was considered mature in D'ni culture, and really mature in his own. He folded his arms behind his back, rubbed his foot against the ground, and looked down.  
  
He softly said, "Well, my lord Gehn, I have no reason to bother you. It's just that I have been doing the same thing ever since I was admitted into the Guild: supervise the wahrk sacrifices and try out Linking Books. Perhaps I could get a little, eh-em, change of position, don't you think?" Cho pulled his mouth into an innocent grin. He obviously couldn't pull his eyes into an adorable "sad puppy" look. He was too old for that, and since when do people use that to ask something from your boss, let alone your god!  
  
  
  
"Are you saying," said Gehn in an annoyed expression, "That you want a promotion?"  
  
Cho looked around nervously. His mind wandered. Would Gehn give him the promotion? Would he simply reject this proposal? Or worse, he might eject him from the Guild, or even kill him! Cho saw Gehn's right hand was holding his infamous heek. Cho couldn't lie to his own master, so he carefully nodded.  
  
Gehn thought for a moment, and then said, "Well, there is one more job to fill out, so I guess I could give you a new assignment. You shall now..."  
  
Raid the Moiety? Spy on those who might be anti-Gehn? Be transferred to the Guild of Educators? He wasn't that good with children, but he would prefer to hand out tests and books over Gehn handing him books to test.  
  
"...guard the Fissure Plateau Cage."  
  
"The Fissure Cage?" gasped Cho. His jaw was dropped. Guard the Fissure Cage?! That's what he would do? Stand all day in front of a pressure-activated cage all day and wait for Katran or Atrus to return to a place where they probably abandoned?!  
  
"Yes," said Gehn, an evil grin rising on his face, "The Fissure Cage. It seems old Guildmaster Isrin grows weary of his current vocation and requested a switch just two hours before you came. And look here- it seems that Guildmaster Cho also requests a different assignment. So it is only fair that you two should switch."  
  
"But-but-but sir," gasped Cho, desperate to get out of this sticky situation he got himself into.  
  
  
  
Gehn's evil grin slowly faded into a scowl. He roared, "You DARE to DISOBEY?!"  
  
Cho cried, "No sir! Never!" And bowed low to his master.  
  
  
  
"ENOUGH!" Roared Gehn. Cho instantly got up from the ground and stopped kissing his master's foot.  
  
  
  
Gehn calmed, and said, "If anyone is to link into the cage, you will ask for the Linking Book the person brought. Say to the person: Tah-ge-mah b'zoo ah re-kor, which translates to 'Give me the book.' Once the person hands you the Linking Book, give it to me. Understand?"  
  
"Yes, sir." said Cho.  
  
Gehn pointed to the door and roared, "Now, go!" 


	2. The Fissure Plateau

The Next Morning:  
  
"Tah-ge-mah b'zoo ah re-kor. Tah-ge-mah b'zoo ah re-kor," repeated Cho to himself as he walked into the Temple, rehearsing for when Atrus or Katran would return- be it tomorrow, a few months, several years, or never. "Tah-ge-mah b'zoo ah re-kor. I will memorize this line so I will fulfill the duty of my master. Tah-ge-mah b'zoo ah re-kor."  
  
He quickly proceeded to the hidden door near the corner where the front and left walls met, and quickly shut it behind him. He was away from the gigantic imager, so now there was no threat of Gehn overhearing him. He could stop sucking up now.  
  
"WHY!?!" he groaned in his native tongue, just in case Gehn could still hear him. "Why in the name of my forefathers did I ask for a promotion? If anything, I received a demotion!"  
  
He walked down the stone corridor. Cho passed the familiar metal door on his right. He was always tempted to enter it, for it was rarely locked, and he tried once. However, Gehn yanked him back and hissed, "If you EVER enter this room, it will be the last mistake you've ever made." Still, he wondered what was behind that door. As Gehn slammed the door shut after Cho had attempted to enter, he saw what looked like the a gigantic cage with one stone chair in the middle.  
  
Soon, Cho made it to the gate, and he quickly reached for his key to open the lock on it. He would have enjoyed crawling under it, as he did when he was younger, but unfortunately the last time he tried, he was stuck in the gate. Eventually, he was freed, but it cut open his finest uniform, as well as his back.  
  
Cho walked up the stairs to the entrance of the Gate Room. He hissed, "This will be like watching a quarter-inch blade of grass grow until it is considered a new Great Tree. In slow motion."  
  
  
  
"WHAT DID YOU SAY, MAINTAINER?!?!" roared a voice that sounded like Gehn from inside the Gate Room.  
  
Cho shrieked, "I'm sorry, master! Please forgive me!"  
  
Suddenly, Gehn's voice was replaced with familiar laughter, "Ha Ha! Cho, you should have seen the look on your face." Out of the Gate Room stepped Guildmaster Rifih, also of the Guild of Maintainers. He was friends with Cho, though he had a lower rank. Still, Cho envied him. Rifih had a family, he was respected in the community- two things that Cho knew that Rifih had and he probably would never have.  
  
"Rifih," said Cho, still panting from the shock, "Why, I ought to..."  
  
"Sorry, Cho," chuckled Rifih, "I couldn't resist. By the way, I would like to congratulate you on your promotion. Guarding the Cage sounds more relaxing than what I have to do: protect the village from Moiety from mini-attacks. After all, they are very hard to catch, even though they do so few things to annoy us."  
  
"But that's the point," said Cho, "Atrus will never come back. Katran will never come back. Not in a million moons. If they do, would they ever bring the key to free Gehn from his troubles?"  
  
Rifih sighed, "Well... there is a small chance that they would come to trap Gehn- or accidentally link into Riven. Who knows?"  
  
Cho muttered, "Like that would happen."  
  
"Sorry, I must go, "said Rifih, walking back into the Gate Room towards the bridge to Book Assembly Island, "Just, do your job. You'll get used to it. You didn't receive the Maintainer Dagger for nothing!"  
  
Cho stared at his dagger. This was the special dagger given as a graduation diploma to all those who were accepted into the Guild of Maintainers. Of course, Cho just missed failing his final tests and having to start all over, but he still was a servant of the all-powerful Gehn.  
  
Finally, Cho marched down to the infamous Fissure Plateau. The first thing that caught his eye was a gigantic dagger which stabbed the earth next to the cage. According to Gehn, the dagger, as well as the other daggers that were spread throughout the islands, was a symbol of the sins of the citizens of Riven. And if they were to follow Gehn's deeds, it would become a symbol of their new era. Of course, Gehn himself looked shocked beyond belief when the daggers first fell out of the sky to pierce the earth, and it was now the Moiety symbol.  
  
The second thing that caught his eye was probably the most disturbing: the Star Fissure. Of course, it was now covered by a large iron plate, but Cho did not want to tread on it in fear of crashing through the plate and falling into that mysterious, infinite abyss. Who knew what met the "travelers" at the bottom?  
  
Gehn said that he used this abyss to defeat his foe and claimed-to-be-son, Atrus, though how could he have destroyed him when Gehn himself admitted that the Fissure was safe to travel, and how could Gehn have won when Atrus forced Gehn to make linking books from scratch in the aftermath? Sometimes, Cho began to believe that the Black Moiety's beliefs of Atrus being a true deity- Gehn being false- were true.  
  
The Star Fissure, Cho recalled, was also used as a form of punishment for transgressors of Gehn's law. Gehn would shove the transgressor into the Fissure, then follow the unfortunate person with the telescope he built to see what awaited him or her at the bottom. The people screamed their lungs out when they fell- noticeable indeed- yet their screams quickly faded away into the vast expanse of stars like a candle being extinguished. The people desperately shook all of their limbs as if they had a chance to grip something to prevent falling down, but their appearances faded out of view. No one knew their fate.  
  
Cho looked at his dagger. He was given a purpose and he couldn't give up on his master. He looked confidently at the Cage, and proclaimed, "Atrus, Katran, I am not afraid of you. Come out now and show yourselves- for the sake of the lord Gehn!  
  
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When the wahrks will learn to fly  
  
And every sunner begins to die  
  
Decades will pass, and what about I?  
  
The Fissure Cage I guard!  
  
When Gehn links into another Age  
  
And locks up all the Moiety into a cage  
  
Guess what I'll do- you don't have to be a sage.  
  
The Fissure Cage I guard!  
  
Cho stopped singing to have a drink of water from his canteen. Cho had paced back and forth across the Fissure Plateau for over a year now, and neither Atrus nor Katran arrived! He found a few Moiety rebels sneaking around once in a while, but they all managed to evade him. In his native tongue (in fear of his master overhearing), he continued:  
  
The day I turn one hundred and twelve  
  
And Gehn gives up his quest to rule a thousand realms  
  
They'll say, "Cho, old Cho, what are doing? Please tell?"   
  
The reply: The Fissure Cage I guard!  
  
Suddenly, Cho heard soft foot steps from behind him. He turned around, and nobody was there- obviously behind one of the large rocks. He thought of only one person who would be doing this (besides Rifih in a silly mood)- the Black Moiety.  
  
Clang! The Cage bars went up, but Cho knew that was because a Moiety rebel through rocks into it as a distraction. Cho fell for this a few times, but not again. He instead directed his attention to the rocks behind him, and the man in the red-and-black uniform sneaking out from behind them.  
  
In one swift action, Cho knocked down the Moiety rebel, and pinned him to the ground by stepping on his chest. Cho unsheathed his Maintainer dagger, and held it above the rebel's throat.  
  
"So," Cho hissed, "You thought you'd get away with it, eh? You would have distracted me, then escaped to do whatever you want. But it seems that Gehn and his servants won again."  
  
The Moiety rebel, struggling to breathe, pleaded, "Sir, let me go, please. I have a family to take care of, and..."  
  
"Another rebel convention to attend," scoffed Cho, "you are an enemy of lord Gehn, and you deserve to die."  
  
"Are you Cho?" asked the rebel.  
  
"Yes," hissed Cho. How did he know his name?  
  
"Well, Cho," the rebel continued, "What about all your inner hatred towards Gehn? I listened to the song you just sang, and I heard about your," the rebel's mouth slowly turned upward into a grin, "promotion."  
  
"ENOUGH!" roared Cho. He raised his foot off of the rebel, only to slam it down harder onto the rebel's chest, "you are to die, and nobody is here to save you."  
  
"Well," the rebel coughed, "There is my brother who is standing behind you."  
  
"I won't fall for that one!" yelled Cho. If he looked back to check if there was another Moiety rebel behind him, the rebel under him would take the opportunity to kick Cho in the unmentionable area.  
  
Cho stared at the rebel eye-to-eye, and said, "Any last words?"  
  
The rebel yelled, "Fire!"  
  
Suddenly, Cho felt very weak and sleepy, and he felt a pinch on the back of his neck. He turned around, and saw another Moiety rebel, holding an empty blowgun. Cho wondered as the dagger slipped out of his hand: But where was the dart? Cho felt the back of his neck. Oh no!  
  
Cho quickly became weak, and collapsed on the ground. The last thing he felt before he lost consciousness was a sensation of being dragged on the ground...  
  
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When he came to, the first thing that Cho felt was that he was wearing a harness around his body. He looked up, and saw a ten-meter shelf of rock. Suddenly, Cho felt a sickening lurch, and began to rise into the air.   
  
In a minute, Cho rose to the Fissure Plateau, where he saw several Maintainers dragging him up- Rifih being one of them. After he was safely on the Plateau and out of the harness, he asked Rifih, "What happened?"  
  
Rifih explained, "Well, you were just hit by a Moiety tranquilizer dart and fainted, and the Moiety rebels pushed you onto the shelf of rock down there. I also have some bad and good news."  
  
"Tell me," said Cho.  
  
Rifih began, "The bad news: the rebels who knocked you out cold sabotaged the Gate Room. Now, whenever you push a button, the Room rotates at 100 rotations per gor-ahn. And Cho- the good news- you'll never believe what happened! Gehn succeeded in making a link!"  
  
Cho gasped, "A link? To another Age?!"  
  
"Exactly," said Rifih, "The Age is harsh and desolate- no-one can live there- but Gehn is still calling it a success. He wants to build an office there- on his 233rd Age."  
  
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83.9.11 I've finally made a breakthrough. I have succeeded in modifying the Fire-marbles to generate enough power to hold a Descriptive Linking Book in a stable matrix: I have linked to a new world! It is a harsh and desolate Age - but is nonetheless well suited for my purposes, and so I have designated it my 233rd. By studying it closely, I believe I will eventually be able to create a more appropriate Age for us to resettle on. For now, I will build an office and set up my living quarters there, in order that I may conduct my experiments in safety and without distraction.  
  
- Gehn  
  
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To be continued...  
  
How was my second chapter? Please review. 


	3. Katran Returns

There was a voice. A man I did not recognize stood before me - Rivenese, though he was wearing D'ni dress. He seemed to be talking to me...  
  
- Catherine  
  
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"When Gehn shall rule Ages- one million  
  
  
  
And I live to see hours- one trillion  
  
Perhaps the chance of Atrus of coming is nil- yet  
  
The Fissure Cage I guard!"  
  
Cho stopped singing to have a sip from his canteen. He had paced back and forth across the Plateau for four years now, and still no sign of Atrus or Katran. Of course, now he couldn't sing about the day when Gehn links into another Age, or the day when he gives up the quest for a thousand worlds, because the latter was impossible and the former was a reality.  
  
He had seen Age 233 a few times, and he was amazed, yet shocked by this Age. The Age seemed even less stable than Riven! The sky looked like it was highly composed of acids, the water looked poisonous, and the "islands" looked like two mountains of the same size stacked one upon the other. Yet those unusual land formations and colors amused him...  
  
Unfortunately, whether Gehn was able to link again or not, this did not affect him directly at all. The entire Guild of Builders, after they had finished creating Fire-marble domes, was summoned to the 233rd Age. However, the other Guilds were left alone. That meant that he was back guarding that accursed Fissure Plateau Cage.  
  
"When Riven sinks below the sea  
  
And my name begins with a 'T'  
  
What will my vocation be?  
  
The Fissure Cage I..."  
  
Clang!  
  
The Cage Bars went up. Cho thought, This must be a trick. Another sick practical joke played by the Moiety. He proceeded towards the cage, but he looked around to see if any Moiety rebels were escaping. And then, he turned around to face the cage.  
  
A woman was standing in the cage. She had long, black hair and tan skin, like most of the Rivenese, but was wearing long D'ni robes. In her hand, she held an unusual looking blue crystal, but that didn't matter. What did matter was that he was looking at one of Gehn's worst enemies; Catherine!  
  
Cho had prepared for this encounter by repeating "Tah-ge-mah b'zoo ah re-kor," say, one billion times. However, he forgot the Gehn's-worst-enemy and traitor-to-all-of-D'ni side of Catherine, and remembered the old-friend-from-school and the "I-remember-when" side of her.  
  
"Katran?" Cho asked.  
  
"Yes?" the woman replied.  
  
"Why, Katran," exclaimed Cho, "do you remember me, Cho?"  
  
Katran thought for a moment, then said, "Yes, I remember! Whenever you entered the school, everyone would greet you by saying, 'Cho, Cho!'" ("Cho" was a common Rivenese greeting)  
  
"I never thought you would return," exclaimed Cho.  
  
Catherine looked around, and muttered, "No kidding."  
  
  
  
"So much has happened since you left," said Cho, as excited as a dog welcoming its owner back from a long trip, "Riven split into five islands, the Great Tree died, Gehn finally succeeded in making a link..." Cho stopped and remembered that he needed to take Katran's linking book.  
  
"Eh, Katran," began Cho, "I'm sorry, but... I need your linking book."  
  
"I apologize," said Katran, "But I do not have."  
  
"WHAT!" yelled Cho. He calmed down, and said, "How can you not have a linking book with you? The last Book out of here fell into the Fissure. No more joking around; hand me the linking book."  
  
"I'm sorry," said Katran, still calm and patient, "But I did not bring. I thought that..."  
  
"I understand that you might feel awkward about this," began Cho. She was wasting his time. He wanted, no, needed to give Gehn a linking book to D'ni. If he did, he would be rewarded by becoming the second-in-command of one thousand worlds, "But Gehn has changed. He is no longer power-hungry and all he wants to do is to apologize to you and your husband. Now hand me the Book!"  
  
Katran said, "I told you, I..."  
  
"LIAR," interrupted Cho, "YOU DO HAVE A LINKING BOOK! GIVE IT TO ME!"  
  
  
  
"What happened to your 'I'm so happy to see you' attitude," snapped Catherine, "Was that just a gimmick for me to actually think that Gehn deserves another chance?"  
  
"Lord Gehn needs a Book," yelled Cho, "Hand it over now, or my master will sacrifice you..."  
  
"Your master?" said Katran, folding her arms, "Why Cho, you were so devout in the Rivenese religion. What would they think when they knew that good Cho broke all of his traditions and worshiped a live, horrible excuse for a person?"  
  
"Better than you," yelled Cho, "It is my duty to guard this cage to..."  
  
"Strange," she interrupted, "Last time I remember your duty was to supervise temple offerings and wahrk sacrifices. Did you transgress, or did Gehn give you one of his 'promotions?'"  
  
"SHUT UP," he burst, as he unsheathed his dagger, "GIVE ME THE BOOK, AND NOBODY GETS HURT!"  
  
"You've changed, you know," she snapped, "You are a different person than my friend from school, Cho. You're just another plaything of Gehn, now. Tell me, do you actually need another promotion from him?"  
  
"Nooooooooo," said Cho, his eyes rolling, "Wait a minute... OF COURSE, YOU IDIOT! I don't care that you're Catherine, wife of Atrus. I don't care that you are Rivenese. I don't care that you're worshiped by the Black Moiety rebels..."  
  
A voice from behind him called, "You should!"  
  
And then, Cho felt a familiar pinch on the back of his neck, and the familiar feeling of slipping out of consciousness...  
  
**********************************  
  
"Guildsman Cho! Cho, do you hear me? Answer me!"  
  
"Sir, if he was unconscious, would he hear you?"  
  
"Well, you have a point, Guildmaster Rifih. Oh, never mind. He's waking up."  
  
The first thing that Cho saw was his master staring him in the face. Of course, he knew that he was hit by another Moiety dart, and was shoved onto the rock shelf.  
  
"Listen here, servant," hissed Gehn, "This is the 2nd time you've been darted. Any more and you'll be thrown out of the Guild."  
  
"I am sorry, sir," said Cho, "But I have good news."  
  
"Tell me," hissed Gehn.  
  
"Catherine! She has returned!"  
  
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86.9.29 I start this latest journal with astounding news ~ Catherine has returned to the Fifth Age! And though it sets my teeth on edge to say it, she has also vanished as quickly as she appeared, stolen from me by the rebels. As my guard tells it, she linked into the Fissure plateau cage - as I'd guessed - when suddenly he was set upon by a band of rebels who darted him & spirited her away. I suspect the truth of the matter was that he was so dumbfounded at actually witnessing someone link in after all this time that he presented an easy target for whichever rebel had happened by at that moment ~ the damnable luck of it! He did get a good enough look at her, though, to verify that it was, indeed Catherine.  
  
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To be continued...  
  
Thank you to all who reviewed. Keep more reviews coming... please? 


	4. Practical Jokes

It was three weeks after Catherine escaped from the Cage. Three long weeks, and so much had changed. The Moiety, whom Gehn had called his "sorry excuse for an enemy," really was an enemy now. The rebels, now that their leader, Katran, arrived, were sabotaging anything that the Guild owned, kidnaping whoever they could find, and doing anything they could do to prove that Catherine was superior to Gehn. In fact, many villagers began to believe that the rebels were spirits because they had strange uniforms, which concealed their features very well, they appeared mysteriously (perhaps out of nowhere, or perhaps out of a spirit world), and vanished as mysteriously as they came.  
  
The worst of it: it was all Cho's fault.  
  
  
  
Cho sighed at the thought of this. If only he had spotted the rebel before he darted him. If only he had protected the Fissure Cage more carefully. And if only he didn't ask for a promotion. He silently swore that he would never ask for a higher rank again.  
  
Cho stepped out of the Maglev onto Temple Island. Gehn said that he wanted to go back to the Cage to see how they could prevent the Moiety from escaping again. After he got out, the Maglev turned around to go back to Jungle Island to pick up his master. It returned after a couple of minutes, but it did not carry Gehn. Instead it carried Rifih, who was sobbing.  
  
"Rifih," asked Cho. He never saw Rifih cry before. Rifih was always in a good mood - he was known for bringing cheer at funerals, "Rifih, what's wrong?"  
  
"Alatan," Rifih wept, "Alatan, my only son! He's- he's- he's gone."  
  
"What do you mean?" asked Cho. Now that the Moiety were true enemies, someone disappearing wasn't a good sign.  
  
"The Moiety," wept Rifih, "Either they took him, or... he joined them! I found this on his bed!" He held up a lone Moiety dagger. "But," he continued, "Life... goes on, doesn't it?" He attempted to smile, but then he burst out in tears and collapsed on the ground, sobbing continuously.  
  
The Maglev arrived again. "Good morning, Guildsman," said Gehn, stepping out from the car, "Eh, where's Rifih?"  
  
"You're stepping on him, sir."  
  
"Oh," said Gehn, moving to the side, "Sorry Rifih. Oh, by the way, I heard about your loss. But don't worry, this will all pass. I lost a son to the other side."  
  
"Did you love him as I loved Alatan," asked Rifih, still on the floor, soaked by his rivers of tears.  
  
"Actually," laughed Gehn, "I was relieved to get rid of him. Who needs sons anyway?" Rifih burst into even more tears. Gehn wasn't really comparable to a healer, who mends wounds. Rather, he was like a politician, who claims to mend wounds but actually makes them worse.  
  
"Now then," Gehn started, "Let's proceed to the Fissure Plateau, shall we?" He approached the temple door, and it began to rise. What he expected to see was a cornucopia of fruit offerings, clean, decorated walls and floors, and his great imager, waiting to spy on whoever came. However...  
  
"KERATH PRESERVE US!"  
  
The fruit offerings were either half-eaten, spoiled, or splattered all over the walls. There were rotting Sunner carcasses spread throughout the floor. All of the artwork in the temple praising Gehn were destroyed, and graffiti in praise of Katran replaced them. One of the most disturbing showed Katran, her outline was illuminated to show her godliness, holding a Moiety dagger in one hand and a hammer in the other, which was squishing what looked vaguely like Gehn. At least, it could have been Gehn. Cho did not remember Gehn having such a long nose and looking so old.  
  
And covering the imager was a large black cover with a large white Moiety dagger. The Black Moiety were here...  
  
"THIS IS AN OUTRAGE," roared Gehn, "MY TEMPLE! MY BEAUTIFUL TEMPLE! DESECRATED! THOSE BARBARIC REBELS WILL PAY! CHO, HELP ME LIFT THIS COVERING OFF MY IMAGER TO SEE IF THOSE FOREVER-BE-DAMNED MOIETY SUNK SO LOW TO DAMAGE IT!  
  
Gehn and Cho lifted the covering, only to put it back up again. For the imager was bent and broken on some of the sides, and in the center was a Moiety dagger stabbing Gehn's pentagonal Crest. And the stained-glass crest behind the imager was damaged in a more disturbing way. Someone had carved D'ni words into the crest, saying:  
  
"Atrus stripped Gehn of his power. Atrus is a true god and Gehn is false.  
  
As a god, Atrus chose Katran, a spiritual misfit from a Rivenese womb, to be his wife.  
  
Katran is our queen, and shall rule Riven forever."  
  
Gehn dropped his jaw. "Oh," he gasped, "Kerath! Cho, please summon the Guild of Builders. Now."  
  
Cho pulled a lever, directing stream to a large pipe next to the gigantic dome used to power up the fire-marble domes. Within minutes, the Maglev arrived at the Temple Island station again, and out came old Guildmaster Gallim from the Guild of Builders. "What seems to be the problem?" he asked.  
  
"Eh," began Cho. Gallim was the most famous of the Guild of Builders because he designed the entire temple and built a large portion of it by hand. That was exactly why he had a crooked spine and needed to lean on a cane. Cho knew that he couldn't just say the news to him immediately, "Gallim, there is a bit of an error with the temple.  
  
"Really," Gallim said, "Let me have a look."  
  
"Actually," said Cho, "I don't think you want to look right away."  
  
"Imager problem," chuckled Gallim, "Door's not opening? Well, no matter what it is, I could- HOLY GUILD! WHAT HAPPENED?!"  
  
"It seems," Cho said, trying to comfort him, "That the rebels have had a bit of fun last night, and..."  
  
"The temple," wept Gallim, "That I broke by back to build! Desecrated! But how? NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO!" And collapsed into a sobbing heap next to Rifih.  
  
And if that wasn't bad enough, the Moiety happened to play another practical joke. The Maglev, as it was entering with another Builder, skid off its tracks and flew right through the temple door. Gehn and Cho rushed to the Maglev. From the car, a voice weekly uttered, "I'm okay." Then, the Maglev door opened, and, since the side of the door was the side touching the ground, flipped the Maglev over. Cho hauled the Builder, who was knocked unconscious, out of the Maglev.  
  
"What happened," gasped Gehn, more concerned about the Maglev that the person inside, "The Maglev is supposed to be only attracted to magnets!"  
  
"It seems," said Cho, "that the motor used to propel the Maglev has been tilted a bit, and somebody sabotaged the magnet at this end of the track. The Moiety is getting clever!"  
  
Suddenly, an explosion echoed throughout Riven. A Guildsman, probably of the Guild of Bookmakers, rushed in through the secret door of the temple. The man's face was blackened by soot, and he was coughing continuously. The man said, "Sir! (Cough) There was a bomb in (Cough, cough), your lab (Cough, cough, wheeze). Moiety!" And then fainted.  
  
Gehn muttered, "Two unconscious, and two who need to get over it." He looked at Cho, and said, "Go to Jungle Island (the long way around, of course) and bring me several Builders and a couple of healers... or undertakers."  
  
*******************************************  
  
"What a long day," Cho muttered as he walked back through the Great Whark to the village. Cho was correct. The Moiety played four tricks in one day: kidnaping Alatan, desecrating Gehn's temple, sabotaging the Maglev, and blew up the lab. But now Builders were repairing the temple, Maglev, and the lab, and healers were assisting the two injured Guildsmen.  
  
Cho was tired of these Moiety "surprises." All he wanted to do was go home, make himself some Sunner stew, and get a well-deserved nap.   
  
He remembered walking through the woods as a child, but the forest looked different then. The forest used to look fuller; there were more trees, and they weren't stripped of bark above the trunk before. Cho knew that the trees were sacrificed to make Gehn's (mostly failing) Books, but he would love to have them back. That was why he preferred Jungle Island over all the others: the trees.  
  
After walking through the central hut, he came to the area of the jungle cracked open to reveal molten lava. This area was warm, but it was more proof that Riven was dying. Yet Cho loved this little space; it was the perfect place to go to on a chilly day, and Cho liked the flowers that grew near the heat. Still, with many cracks like this, he knew that the island couldn't last too long.  
  
As Cho opened the gate, an alarm sounded. He cried, "No! Its just me! I'm not a rebel!" And the alarm stopped. Cho really hated the sentry post that was recently put up in front of the village, but it was for a good cause: to alert the villagers when a Moiety "spirit" comes. Still, the Moiety managed to slip past it most of the time.  
  
Cho climbed up the ladder to his hut. It was round, like every other Rivenese hut, and it was next to the lake. This meant Cho could enter his home by climbing in through the floor, instead on crawling on his hands and knees.  
  
As he entered his home, he looked up at the five-part diorama of Gehn that everyone was required to have in their homes (also seen in the Gate Room). The first painting showed Gehn, looking regal, even godly, dispatching catastrophe. The sun was dark, a ball of fire fell from Gehn's hand, the sea was aflame, and in the center was a defeated Atrus, falling into the Fissure. The 3rd rule of Gehn: Gehn defeated Atrus.  
  
The second showed the five guilds in order from left to right: Builders, Educators, Maintainers, Surveyors, and Bookmakers. All five were lead by old, bearded men - which was what Gehn wanted, for he considered them docile and controllable. And all five were under watch by Gehn.  
  
The third showed the process of bookmaking: the stumps that used to be trees, logs being shredded, and the wood boiler that stood near the lake on Bookmaking Island. In the center, there was a large Book, held by the hand of Gehn (Gehn for sure, because on his hand there was the D'ni symbol of the number 5, Gehn's favorite number), and the people of Riven bowed down to it.  
  
The fourth showed Gehn sitting at the desk, writing in a large volume - the Riven Descriptive Book. Out of the Book, poured humans, beasts, the stars, the sea... This was the 2nd rule of Gehn: Gehn created Riven.  
  
And the final simply showed all the people of Riven bowing down to Gehn, who had a large medallion with the D'ni symbol for 5 on it and a large open book behind his head. The 1st rule of Gehn: Gehn is master of Riven.  
  
Cho prayed to Gehn, though it felt strange to do so. After all, he saw Gehn himself today, and he could have just asked him for a blessing. Then, Cho ate and took a long nap.  
  
**********************************  
  
"EMERGENCY! EMERGENCY! ALL MAINTAINERS MUST PROCEED TO THE 233RD AGE. EVERYONE ELSE, PLEASE REMAIN IN YOUR HOMES. ONE OF THE SACRED BOOKS HAS DISAPPEARED," roared a voice from the direction of the sentry post. Cho got out of bed in a second to this rude awakening. He had no time to eat lunch or to pray to Gehn. He had to go immediately.  
  
Cho took his Maintainer dagger, and unlocked the door on the bottom of his hut... except it didn't open. He kicked the door, but it still didn't open. Someone played another sick practical joke on him.  
  
"I don't have time for this," yelled Cho, and he cut open the door with his dagger. He rapidly climbed down the ladder, and ran to the nearest fire-marble dome. When he got there, however, he noticed that he forgot the combination to gain access to the linking book inside.  
  
He ran back to his hut, and realized that since he cut the door open, anyone could gain access to his possessions in his house - even the Moiety! Cho opened the desk drawer where he put the code to open the fire-marble dome, but the code was gone.  
  
Frantically searching for the code, he found a note, which read:  
  
Dear Cho,  
  
Thank you for giving us the code to enter Gehn's realm.  
  
We wonder what Gehn will promote you to now!  
  
After the text was a sketch of a large Moiety dagger.  
  
************************************  
  
"You're late again, Cho," hissed Gehn as Cho linked into his 233rd Age. Cho apologized, and joined the other Maintainers who were standing by the back wall. He stood in an unusual silence, still not sure what Gehn would say if he knew that the Moiety found Cho's combination the week before.   
  
Usually, Gehn had a cage lowered onto anybody who linked into the Age for security purposes, but this was urgent.  
  
"Last week," said Gehn, "One of my Books vanished. I called you all here, but we could not find the thief, though we suspected Moiety involvement.  
  
"And just a few hours ago, I noticed when I used one of the fire-marble domes that my linking book to the 233rd Age had been unhooked from the dome and knocked onto the floor. I am guessing that the rebels have been using the fire-marble dome, but I don't know why, or how. But I fear that Catherine is a tougher opponent that we thought."  
  
********************************  
  
We have stolen another Book. But I'm concerned; Gehn will miss it. We have also discovered the combinations for entering the domes, but we have not discovered the method for powering them. By powering our burnt Book with Gehn's domes, we will be able to link to this Age. But we will only have access to the domes for a short of time, before we are discovered.  
  
- Catherine  
  
*****************************  
  
To be continued...  
  
Thanks to Serpent Mage and Mitsuki Hoshiko for reviewing. I would like, no, need all who read this to review... please?  
  
I will write Chapter 5 shortly. 


	5. War

"Cho, Rifih, I am glad you two have come," said Gehn, as the two linked into his 233rd Age, "I think I finally have plans to defeat Katran.  
  
" You see, Katran and the Moiety have been wreaking havoc and causing chaos throughout Age 5 for months. More villagers have vanished, there were over 30 bombings recorded, there were hundreds of robberies, and I'm afraid that some of there vandalism might never be able to remove. Just yesterday, when I pushed the button to listen to music from my Cannen, it seems that I accidentally triggered a Moiety stink-bomb. The stench is still in here! No, I cannot open the windows, in fear of the dangerous elements outside. So I guess we'll die either way." Gehn laughed hysterically. There was one thing notoriously annoying about Gehn: his jokes weren't funny.  
  
"What can we do, sir?" asked Cho as he bowed. He was eager to get rid of Katran's assistance of the Moiety ever since she returned from who-knows-where. It was five months since she arrived, but in those 5 the Moiety did impossibly destructive damage to everything owned by or in tribute to Gehn that they could get their who-knows-how-many hands on. He was especially eager because this was all his fault.  
  
"You and Rifih," explained Gehn, "Will patrol a section of Jungle Island, right there," pointing on a Surveyor's map of Riven. Unfortunately, "right there" was the Fissure Plateau. Cho had cursed this area to be the first section of Riven to sink beneath the waters, for on this plateau he was humiliated to an extreme rate. Still, he would be patrolling with Rifih, so he would be in good company.  
  
Rifih, however, was not the always-optimistic, brings-cheer-even-in-funerals person he used to be ever since Alatan vanished. He still did not constantly weep for his son, but whenever his son was mentioned, he would cool the air with a deep, painful sigh, and look away in a horribly deep silence. But he still was nice to be around.  
  
"Once you see a rebel," Gehn continued, "You will attack him or her, then bring the rebel to the 233rd Age, where I will question the ungrateful brute. But before you bring that barbarian, here, you will summon other Maintainers, with this," holding up 2 large whistles, "Sure, they are kind of small, but fellow Guildsmen could hear it throughout the 5th Age. Listen!" And, to the horror of Rifih and Cho, he blew in one of the whistles.  
  
The Guildsmen screamed. They knew now that the whistles were audible throughout Riven, but also they were able to make a man deaf at close range. Gehn said, "Understand?"  
  
"WHA'?" screamed Cho. He couldn't hear his master over the loud, high-pitch whistle in his ears. "I CAN'T HEAR YOU!" shouted Rifih.  
  
Suddenly, Gehn (not Cho or Rifih, for obvious reasons) heard the sound of linking echoing throughout the office. It was Lirasan, another Maintainer.  
  
"Lirasan," said Gehn, "I haven't summoned you here. Do you have a reason for interrupting my briefing to these (now semi-deaf) Maintainers?"  
  
"It seems there is an emergency, milord," said Lirasan very quickly, trying to fight back his heavy panting. Perhaps he was in a great rush coming here, "The Moiety is assembling by the Village, with plans to persuade the villagers to join them. We believe that Katran might be among them!"  
  
Gehn grinned, and said softly, "An opportunity indeed. Now, summon all the Maintainers you can find, and bring them to the Great Whark area."  
  
"Yes, sir," Lirasan said, and linked to Jungle Island.  
  
Glancing at Cho and Rifih, Gehn roared, "You, too."  
  
"WHAT? I STILL CANNOT HEAR YOU OVER THE LOUD..."  
  
"Oh, never mind," groaned Gehn as he forced Cho's and Rifih's hands onto the Linking Book to Jungle Island.  
  
************************************  
  
"35... 36... 37... 38," counted Cho, "If this doesn't stop the Moiety, what will?"  
  
Including himself and Rifih, there were 38 Maintainers waiting at the Great Whark, and more would be coming soon. Fortunately, he gained his hearing back, and he was in the mood to attack the rebels, in revenge of darting him twice and robbing him once. Of course, Cho never killed or successfully caught any rebel once, but he sure wanted to.  
  
"Ah! Hello, Cho," said an old voice behind him. It was Isrin, an old Maintainer, who had guarded the Fissure Plateau Cage before he did. Cho despised him, for if Isrin had not requested a promotion just before Cho did, then Isrin wouldn't be laughing at the whark sacrifices now and Cho wouldn't have been able to allow Katran's escape, "I see you are... enjoying my old job. Perhaps it was good for you to ask for that promotion."  
  
"It was," said Cho, falsely grinning. What an obnoxious old bloke!  
  
"So," said Isrin cooly, "age doesn't quite matter, does it? And it seems that you missed my biggest day. When I volunteered to be the first person to link out of here for almost 30 years, you were - what's that? Ah, yes - hit by a Moiety dart and shoved onto a rock shelf."  
  
"Shut up, you old fart," hissed Cho.  
  
"Why Cho," said Isrin, happy to see that he made Cho angry, "ever heard of respecting your elders?"  
  
"Enough," shouted a voice from behind them. It was Erilis, a Maintainer who fell off a bridge a few years ago after the Moiety sabotaged it. He broke his right arm in the accident, and he never fully recovered, yet he still served the Guild with great pride, "We are supposed to be getting along here, to serve Gehn. Now cool it, you two!" Erilis was known for being the peacekeeper in the Maintainer army. Rifih was too, until Alatan vanished.  
  
The elevator in the Great Whark lowered again, and out stepped Guildmaster Ytanog, the leader of the Maintainers. Ytanog was friendly, he looked out for everyone, and he was still loyal to Gehn. The only person who didn't like him in the group was Isrin, who just missed obtaining Ytanog's position. He always wanted him to die, for if so, Isrin would lead the Maintainers.  
  
"Good evening, everyone," he began, "are all of you clear about the plan?"  
  
"You never spoke about a plan, sir."  
  
"Pah! What kind of leader are you without a decent plan?"  
  
"Be quiet, Isrin," snapped Ytanog, "We are to approach the village and sneak up on the Moiety rebels, and when I say 'Go,' we will all attack. Let's see... how many are we?"  
  
"When you arrived, 46, sir."  
  
"Thank you Cho," said Ytanog, "We therefore have a good advantage over the Moiety. Of course, they have stealth techniques, and could triumph over us that way. The probably are aware of our presence at this moment. Spirits indeed..."  
  
"You mean you believe that they are spirits? Imagine what master would say to that! Maybe I should lead."  
  
"Maybe you should close your mouth, Isrin! Gehn put me in charge, not you! Besides, you are so loud that the Moiety will end up sneaking up on and attacking us now! Now, fellow Maintainers, do you understand?"  
  
The group cried, "Yes!"  
  
"Now," declared Ytanog, "Let's move out!"  
  
***********************************************  
  
"What happened," groaned Cho. He was running after a rebel, and the next thing he knew, he was lying on a bed in one of the village huts with a horrible, pounding headache.  
  
"Cho," said Rifih's voice, "You're awake." Rifih was standing by the hut's stove. He had several cuts on his hands and face, which was proof that the battle did exist.  
  
"Rifih," said Cho, "What happened last night, in the battle?"  
  
"Last night," said Rifih, "You mean the night before. You were unconscious for all of yesterday.  
  
"But anyway, when you charged after the rebel, another rebel threw a rock at your head. With good aim, I might add."  
  
"And the battle? Did we win?"  
  
Rifih sighed and said, "Most of the Moiety were injured, as were most of the Maintainers. However, 2 people from our ranks, I'm afraid, are up there now." As he pointed upward.  
  
"Who?" gasped Cho. Some of the Maintainers were good friends of his. Except, of course, for Isrin.  
  
"First, there was Erilis."  
  
"Erilis?" Cho was shocked. He knew Erilis all his life. They went to school together, sometimes do homework together, one in a while have an argument together, but nevertheless he missed Erilis. Of course, it wasn't very surprising, for Erilis's bad arm made him an easy target, but Erilis, poor, poor Erilis!  
  
"And then... Ytanog."  
  
"YTANOG?!" gasped Cho. That was even worse news. Cho looked up to Ytanog, for he protected him and the other Guildsmen from Moiety attacks and other horrible occurrences. He was also a good friend. He didn't deserve such a fate!  
  
Suddenly, the door burst open, and Gehn entered the hut.  
  
"Cho, I'm glad you're up," he said in a tone somewhat less comforting than Rifih, "I'm afraid I have some bad news."  
  
"I told him, sir."  
  
"Great," Gehn said. Great?! How could someone say "great" when two nice people were killed, "Did you tell him the good news?"  
  
"I was about to, your excellency."  
  
"OK, then," said Gehn, "I'll have the honor to do so. Cho, we've captured Katran."  
  
"WE DID?!"  
  
"That's right."  
  
Finally, Cho's humiliation had been countered by Katran's capture! She was out of the way, so the Guild could now move around Riven more freely.  
  
"It seems," Gehn continued, "That Katran linked here unintentionally, so she doesn't have a linking book back to where she came from. But this means that Atrus will have to link here, in order to gain her back. I sure he desires to see her again. Which means that the Cage must be guarded again."  
  
"By Isrin?" Cho asked hopefully. He thought only one thing: "Please, not me! Please, not me! Please, not me!"  
  
"No," said Gehn, "With the recent casualties Isrin is now the leader of the Maintainers. He is far too busy to do that. So it seems that you must guard the Fissure Plateau Cage again."  
  
WHAT?! AGAIN!?!?  
  
Cho fainted.  
  
****************************************  
  
87.2.8 I've got her! Late last night I received word that Catherine was in the village attempting to persuade the people to join her. I lost two good men in the process, but I would have paid a hundred times that number for such a prize. She's been taken to the Prison Island, where I've been attempting to gain some insight as to the reason for her presence here. I've had to fight the all but constant impulse to put her on the gallows; she has adopted the most infuriating stance of only answering my questions ~ when she answers them at all ~ in her native tongue. Even so, she is a poor liar ~ I am now quite certain that her return to Riven was unintentional, and that she brought not Linking Book with her. As far as her willingness to share with me the location of the Moiety… we shall see ~ without their leader, however, they are once again powerless against me. If Catherine's coming here was indeed an accident, then Atrus is bound to come for her ~ that is a given. The question I must now consider is ~ how will he do it? It is likely that his hesitation has been due ~ at least in part ~ to this dilemma. One way or another, though, he'll have to bring a Linking Book to get back to D'ni ~ there is no other way.  
  
**************************************  
  
To be continued...  
  
Thanks once again to Serpent Mage and Mitsuki Hoshiko for reviewing. Thank you! But I still need more reviews from ALL who read this... pleeeeeeeeaaaase?  
  
I will write Chapter 6 shortly.  
  
(P.S.: Mitsuki Hoshiko, the player frees Atrus about 5 months after Katran was captured, so while Katran was stealing books, the stuff in "Myst" was not yet taking place. What Atrus does say at the end of the game "Myst" was that he was battling another, more terrible opponent, and might need the player's assistance) 


	6. A Stranger

Silence.  
  
Myst was silent, the only sounds being the gentle sea and the calm winds. For months, it had been unoccupied, perhaps even abandoned. But for two and one half weeks, someone had walked the island's pathways - but who?  
  
The Ages of Myst were silent, the only sounds being the winds of the suddenly blue sky of Mechanical, the storms on Stoneship, the creatures of Channelwood, and the various, somewhat-disturbing sounds of Selenitic. Only these four remained, out of the countless Ages written by Atrus, and all were vacant because of Sirrus's greed for power and Achenar's thirst for blood. But for two and one half weeks, someone had rotated the Mechanical tower, walked the planks of Stoneship, rode the Mazerunner in Selenitic, and operated the water valves of Channelwood. But who?  
  
D'ni was silent, for all of its people had been killed 62 years before, because of the greed and hatred of one cruel man. The only noise was coming from an ancient chamber on K'veer island, and this was the furious scribbles of a fountain pen. The creator of the noise was Atrus, son of Gehn, the last D'ni survivor.  
  
Atrus stopped writing as he watched the precious ink burn into the Book. "There," he thought, "That might make Riven a bit more stable for a while." But with that he sighed. For a while. Soon, the corrections would fail, making Atrus need to start all over again. It wouldn't be long now until the Age would finally die.  
  
He looked up from his writing. There stood the strange man who freed Atrus from his imprisonment by Sirrus and Achenar. He was clothed in brown robes - these actually belonged to Atrus but he let him borrow the robes, because the stranger didn't bring any spare garments when he accidently linked into Myst. Atrus thanked the man for his kind deed, and wondered what he could do to repay him. However, the only thing the stranger requested was the only thing Atrus couldn't do: to return him to his home.  
  
But now, Atrus needed him to do something more important than ever.  
  
"Thank God you've returned," said Atrus, "I need your help." The stranger bowed and silently approached Atrus's desk. He was always very silent, and that might have been the best thing about him; it made him an exceptionally good listener.  
  
"There's a great deal of history you should know," he continued, "I'm afraid that I must continue my writing. Here," and he handed the stranger one of his many diaries, "Most of what you'll need to know is in there. Keep it well hidden."  
  
The stranger hid the journal in his robes. Most people hide their diaries, considering them private. Atrus, however, did not agree with that. He commonly handed people his journals so that they could learn more about him. In fact, he remembered handing Catherine a journal when he first loved her, over 30 years ago (this, it turns out, wasn't as necessary as he thought it would be, for she knew all about Atrus through his grandmother, Anna).  
  
Atrus sighed as he picked up the next item his friend needed. A Trap Book, similar to the ones that sealed Sirrus and Achenar's fates, except it was cleverly disguised as a Linking Book to the D'ni chamber he was now sitting in. He stared at it. Did Gehn really deserve this fate? After all, he was his father.   
  
But then he thought of Age 37, the Age that Gehn had oppressed, then destroyed. Then he thought of all the civilizations that he could have blotted out to make room for his vague memories of the D'ni. Then he thought of what kind of father he was to Atrus; how he vandalized Inception, his very first Age, how he threw Atrus in the D'ni cell he was in now and attempted to marry his beloved Catherine, and how he disowned Atrus for getting in his way of dictating one thousand worlds. Worst of all, what kind of father abandons his own son right after he was born, WITHOUT EVEN NAMING HIM?!  
  
And then he thought of Catherine. The only way he would be able to see her again would be if Gehn was safely out of the way.  
  
Yes. Gehn did deserve imprisonment in a Trap Book, but whether or not the Book would be burned behind him, he would decide later.  
  
"For reasons you'll discover," Atrus continued, "I can't send you to Riven with a way out, but I can give you this. It appears to be a Linking Book back here to D'ni. But it's actually a one man prison. You'll need it, I'm afraid, to capture Gehn." And he handed his friend the Trap Book. Fortunately, with his confronts with Sirrus and Achenar, the stranger had good experience with Trap Books."  
  
But how would the stranger signal him? And how could Atrus grant his only request? Atrus remembered something about Riven that was on his mind for 30 years: the Star Fissure.  
  
"Once you've found Catherine," Atrus continued, "Signal me, and I'll come with a Linking Book to bring us back. There's also a chance, if this all goes well, that I might be able to get you back to the place that you came from."  
  
And with that, he closed the colossal Riven Descriptive Book, and opened it to the page with the Gateway Image, which he held out for his friend. The stranger was obviously puzzled by the fact that it was blurry - perhaps remembering the static in the Gateway Images of the Red and Blue Books. But still, he slowly and cautiously extended his hand towards the Image.  
  
Once he vanished, Atrus closed the Book, and opened it to the page that he was modifying before. And as he wrote, he whispered, "Good luck, my friend."  
  
**********************************  
  
"Link in, link in, wherever you are," groaned Cho. He was standing on his least favorite place in the world: the Fissure Plateau, working in his least favorite position: Cage guard.  
  
The past 5 months had gone from bad to worse. Isrin was now the chief of the Maintainers, and he did a worse job than Ytanog, though his vanity was greater than Ytanog's and he was over 10 times as obnoxious. The Moiety was less of a menace, now that Katran was being held hostage, but all of its attacks were directed towards the Maintainers, perhaps because they were the ones who captured their queen.  
  
CLANG!  
  
The Cage Bars went down again. Cho slowly walked towards the Cage, thinking, "The Moiety is playing a trick on me. First, they'll sneak up from behind me when I look at the empty Cage, then, they'll dart me or knock me unconscious... again!"  
  
He approached the Cage, but he turned around first to make sure that there were no rebels waiting to attack him. And then he turned around to face the Cage.  
  
There was a young man standing in the Fissure Plateau Cage. He was wearing brown D'ni robes, but he did not look like a D'ni or Rivenese person. Who was he? But whoever he was he looked like he was hiding something behind his back. A Linking Book?  
  
Cho was stunned by this new visitor. He forgot about the Linking Book he was supposed to take, and instead decided to greet the strange newcomer.  
  
"Hello," Cho said in his native tongue, "What's your name? Welcome to Age Five!"  
  
The stranger did not reply. A nervous chuckle escaped from his lips, which clearly showed that he had no idea of what he just said. Cho heard a loud thud!- sound from behind the man. The stranger looked behind him, and picked up a large book that he had dropped. A Linking Book! Cho remembered he had to say something to the man, so that he would hand him the Book.  
  
"Tah-em-ah," Cho said slowly, "re-ko-ah."  
  
That didn't work.  
  
Cho stuttered, "Tah... tah... tah... tahg-em-ah b'soo re-ko-ah!" He made hand gestures for the last few words, as if that would draw out that syllables to help the stranger understand.  
  
He groaned. Cho remembered practicing it for years, and here he messed up... badly.  
  
"Look," Cho said, still in Rivenese dialect, "Just give me the Book. Give it to me!"  
  
The stranger did not respond. That did it! Cho approached the Cage in fury, and yelled, "Give it to me!" And with that, he wrestled the Book out of the man's grip.  
  
The stranger yelled at him in a strange dialect, but that did not matter. What did was that Cho now had a Linking Book to give to his master! Success!  
  
He flipped through the pages of the Linking Book, until he saw the Gateway Image. He could see it now: Gehn would shake his hand, link to D'ni, work out his issues with his son (in a not very good way), and would crown Cho as his second-in-command of a thousand Ages. Yes. He would have 10, 20 Ages that he would claim as his own, expensive jewelry around his neck and on his royal fingers, he would be adorned with the finest fur and linen garments, wine would be made for him as if it was mere water, and a woman would be in each of his arms.  
  
But even as he dreamed, Cho didn't notice someone sneaking up from behind him.  
  
***********************************  
  
"WAKE UP! WAKE UP, YOU FOOL!"  
  
Cho woke up to an unpleasant start: Gehn staring him at the face, his hands tightly clutching and violently shaking Cho's shoulders.  
  
"This has been the third time you've been hit by a Moiety dart," hissed Gehn, "THE THIRD TIME, YOU LITTLE SAVAGE! This is INEXCUSABLE!"  
  
"Sir," said Cho quietly, "I can explain what happened! A man linked in, with a Book back to D'ni!"  
  
"And did you GET the Book, slave?"  
  
"Yes, sir, I..."  
  
Cho stopped. The Linking Book! His government role! His 20 Ages! His valuable garments and jewelry! His wine! His women! All gone! The Moiety rebel must have taken it upon his escape!  
  
"You let it go to the Moiety, didn't you," Gehn sneered.  
  
"Sir, it was an..."  
  
Gehn howled in rage. He screamed, "YOU WORTHLESS LITTLE BAHRO!" And then he lifted one foot, and stomped on Cho's stomach. He happened to be wearing heavy boots that day.  
  
"WHY, I WOULD BE WELL ADVISED TO MAROON YOU ALL ON THIS CURSED FIFTH AGE, AND START ALL OVER AGAIN!" And with that, he stomped on Cho's stomach again.  
  
"THIS HAS BEEN THE FIRST TIME IN YEARS IN WHICH SUCH A PERFECT BOOK ENTERED AGE FIVE, AND YOU LOST IT, AND LET THE CAGE GET SABOTAGED!"  
  
"Sabotaged," squeaked Cho, cringing in fear.  
  
"IT CANNOT OPEN NOW!" And with that, he stomped on Cho with both feet.  
  
Please," said Cho, still in fear of his enraged master and in agony, "Can I do anything to make up for this?"  
  
Gehn thought for a moment, and said, "Look here, slave. Since you let the stranger go, you track him! No, I don't care if you aren't a Surveyor. Head over to Jungle Island; the stranger was last seen by the village. Now, get your worthless bottom off the ground and go!"  
  
***********************************  
  
87.7.30: Damn these savages! I would be well advised to leave them all in the Fifth Age and begin again with a clean sheet of paper!   
  
A stranger has arrived on Riven ~ with a Linking Book to D'ni! And once again my useless minion was overtaken by the rebels. From what little I could decipher from his muddled explanation, it apparently occurred sometime this morning. The cage has been damaged, but it is no matter ~ everything I need is here now. Atrus is certainly behind this, yet how could he be so foolish as to send someone here with a Linking Book? Such blatancy is unlike him. Could it be that he has had a change of heart? After all these years, is he finally letting his poor old father go? No, he's only after one thing ~ perhaps he should find her.   
  
For now, I need only to wait and observe.  
  
***********************************  
  
To be continued...  
  
Thanks again to Serpent Mage, Lady Kat, and Mitsuki Hoshiko for reviewing! Whoever reads this, please review.  
  
Chapter 7 is on its way.  
  
(P.S.: Come to think of it, Serpent Mage, I was a bit optimistic towards Gehn in the earlier chapters. However, this shows that Gehn, like his guard, also has a good side - though his is ridiculously smaller. After all, he was a good son to Aitrus - not Anna, though - and a good husband towards Keta, even though that partook in her death.) 


	7. Tracking

"There you are, you little devil!" hissed Cho. He ducked behind the stump of what used to be a towering tree. Peeking out from behind it, he saw the stranger, who beside another stump. Out of his brown robes, the sudden guest pulled out a little book, and began to read it.  
  
"What's this," thought Cho, "Not another linking book. Atrus wouldn't be that risky. But now I probably could see the stranger's intentions." Cho sneaked over to the back of the stranger's stump. As he slowly walked towards it, being sure that he remained unnoticed, he remembered this land from his youth.  
  
He loved to climb the trees, but many stumps replaced them. He loved to sit in their shade, but it was much too warm now. He loved to see all the wonderful creature who lived in the forest, but all the creatures were gone with their homes. Cho always wished for the trees to grow again, but Gehn would probably cut down. The forest was very much like D'ni, Riven, and even Gehn: it was great once, but no longer.  
  
Finally, Cho snuck up behind the stranger to see what he was reading - a message from Atrus? A map of Riven? A list of all the weaknesses that Gehn and his army had? - and saw... something. What, he wasn't sure.  
  
It looked like a diary of some sort, but it was not written in D'ni, nor Rivenese, nor any language he had ever seen before. What was it? Cho remembered going into Gehn's laboratory on Book Assembly (or Crater) Island, and he read a diary with similar text. But what language was it? Using a foreign language to write was to Gehn's advantage, for nobody could see what he was up to, but it was also to Atrus's advantage, now.  
  
After a while, the stranger closed the diary, and walked over to the opening of what looked like an underground shaft. Cho knew that threw this shaft, the Book Makers shipped wood to be chipped at Book Assembly Island. To Cho's amazement, the stranger climbed into the mine car inside the shaft. Was he that crazy? The car had a bottom that opened when it reached Book Assembly Island, dumping its contents into the chipper.  
  
Cho then had an idea. He would sneak over to the mine car, and snatch the diary from the stranger. Then, he would bring it to Gehn. Genius!  
  
Slowly and quietly, he climbed down to the mine car, making sure that the stranger was not looking. He carefully outstretched his arm to him. And then... the stranger pulled the lever, and the car began to move.  
  
Frantically looking around, Cho realized that his sleeve was stuck to the back car. But it was too late to do anything now. The car was moving at full force, with Cho dangling behind it!  
  
******************************  
  
A strange man climbed up to the boiler. His heart was racing, but only because of an exciting ride on a mine car. It reminded him of a roller coaster on his home Age. He felt a bit of disappointment, having his Trap Book taken away by a man in a black-and-red suit, but otherwise he was just curious about this mysterious world, and who this "Gehn" guy exactly was. And why the car felt like it was held back by something.  
  
The man did not notice someone limping over to the lake. This person was badly scratched and bruised, as if knocked over and over into hard stones. His clothes were ripped, and were incredibly filthy. The bottom of his pants were drenched, as if plunged into water, and singed, as if burnt by the special heat rings used to repel the water. He could hardly walk, let alone limp or crawl, since his arms and legs happened to be very sore, as if stretched out and dangled like a flag from a certain mine car.  
  
Cho groaned as he looked at his reflection. His face was scratched, and black with soot. As he washed it, making sure not to drink any of the water since he did not have any powder on him, he thought only one thing: Stupid job! Stupid mine car! Stupid stranger! Stupid promotion!  
  
After he finished washing his face, Cho turned around and noticed two things: the boiler door was open and the stranger was gone. But surely, the stranger would simply be inside the boiler, seeing in disgust that the pipe was overflowed with water, blocking the way out, right? Cho entered the boiler. No! The water was gone! The stranger must have been smarter than he thought.  
  
Cho climbed down the pipe to the crater wall, and from there, he walked inside to the underground Ytram pool. This was another symbol of Gehn's madness and cruelty. Gehn would lower down a cage into the pool, complete with a food pellet inside. Once he heard the cage close, Gehn would raise up the cage, and inside would be a Ytram frog, which was desperately croaking inside - as if Gehn would listen to its pleas. And then Gehn would open the cage a bit to see his price, and a hideous grin rose on his face. Finally, he would take his heek, thrust open the cage, and... you could guess the rest.  
  
Gehn didn't even use the Ytram for a good cause, either - he didn't even use the Ytrams for decoration like what he did with whark bones until he used the wharks against the villagers. Instead, he just smoked them in his pipe, laughing greedily about all the things he made the Rivenese do. Fortunately, Gehn got his just reward: Cho sometimes found Gehn lying unconscious in his office, his pipe lying next to him, still lit.  
  
The door to the pool was opened, and Cho walked in. But as soon as he did, he felt an unusual sense of silence. It was quiet. Too quiet. Then, he found out the reason: someone had turned off the fan that was usually making a racket. And then he saw it...  
  
A pair of feet sliding up the chute where the fan was. And Cho had no choice but to follow it. But he didn't want to go up there! Who knew where it led? Cho thought, "What would Gehn say? What advice would he give?"  
  
And said Cho heard a voice in his head; the voice of Gehn, say, "Shut up and stop whining, you idiot!" Okay, so Gehn wasn't the best advice giver.  
  
  
  
********************************  
  
"Now... where... you little... nuisance?" Hissed Cho. The stranger was now going into the prison - the prison, out of all places! The stranger led him all over Riven doing who-knows-what, and had him dangle like a flag from the mine car, had him thrown off a Maglev - twice! - and other annoying things. What now?  
  
The stranger opened the drain, and pulled something at the bottom. Suddenly, the prison shook, and the a part of the side wall opened up, revealing a hidden passage. So that's how the Moiety prisoners escaped!  
  
Cho followed the stranger in. Apparently, the stranger looked like he was here before. The mysterious person opened the stone door in the middle of the hallway, and large, stone room.  
  
The room was circular, and around the room, there were strange stone pillars, each with a design of a creature engraved on it. But the most horrifying thing about this room was that in front, surrounded by Rivenese water, was the emblem of a Moiety dagger. But there was nothing to worry about... right?  
  
The stranger began pushing down stone pillars:  
  
A fish: All the thing did was sink to the floor.  
  
A scarab beatle: Strange. All it did was sink to the floor, yet the stranger pushed it down faster, with more excitement.  
  
A Ytram: Sank to the floor again, except faster. Wait a minute- a fish, a scarab beatle, and a Ytram. Weren't these major creatures of Riven?  
  
A Sunner: The stranger was racing now, a smile exploded onto his face.  
  
A Whark: The most important creature of Riven. But here something unusual happened.  
  
The water in front of the Moiety dagger began to ripple, and then flow away. The stranger's smile lowered into a curious stare. And then, the dagger emblem flipped over to reveal...  
  
A Linking Book. Its edges were burnt, and it had a crystal on its Gateway Image, but it was a Linking Book. The stranger slowly walked over to it, and slowly put his hand on the Linking Book, and vanished.  
  
Cho was shocked. A linking book! The Moiety found a way to power up a Linking Book! They had an Age, and Cho knew exactly how to enter it! Gehn would love him now.  
  
Cho saw it right in front of his eyes: He would tell Gehn everything, and Gehn would send Maintainers into the Age to crush all the rebels and retrieve the special "book windows" that was spotted with one rebel, used to power up Linking Books faster and easier than Fire-marble Domes. Then, as a reward, Gehn would make Cho the second-in-command of a thousand worlds. And he would give him ten private Ages, he would be clothed in the finest clothes, wear the finest jewelry, sip wine as if it was just water, and have a woman in each arm.   
  
And he would have palaces - five, ten, as many as trees!- each at least 40 stories tall! He would fill them with expensive antique vases and chandeliers and paintings, and gold! Fabulous gold! He would roll in his gold coins as if they were just fallen autumn leaves. He would learn to juggle his plentiful gold bars; who would care if one dropped and shattered, for he would have a million or so more! And he would stroke and gloat upon his thousands upon thousands of gold nuggets. He would be rich! Filthy, filthy rich!  
  
But then, Cho heard voices behind him.  
  
"Has the messenger of Lord Atrus linked yet," whispered one voice.  
  
"Yes," whispered another voice, similar to the other except a bit muffled, "Let's follow... MAINTAINER! MAINTAINER ON MOIETY GROUND!"  
  
"Where?"  
  
"Right there!"  
  
Cho turned around and saw two rebels: one, perhaps a maintenance worker, who was clad in normal Rivenese attire, and another, who was wearing the notorious red-and-black suit and mask and a blow gun in his hand. The Moiety rebel without a uniform yelled, "Don't just stand there! Get him! GET HIM!"  
  
Cho shrieked, and ran towards the Linking Book. Then, he leaped for the Book, leaving the back of his neck exposed. And the last thing he remembered was the familiar feeling of slipping out of consciousness, combined with the sickening lurch of linking.  
  
*****************************  
  
To be continued...  
  
Sorry for taking so long, but since school's resumed, I don't have as much time to write.  
  
Thanks to all of the reviewers! Keep up the good work, and I'll write the next chapter as soon as possible! 


	8. Enemy Lines

* * *

Dark clouds filled the sky. The valley was in the shadows. Everything was dark and mysterious; a perfect headquarters for the Moiety.  
  
Cho opened his eyes, but he still felt drowsy from the dart. He felt like he was drifting; perhaps he was in a boat or raft on water. The splashing sound of a paddle was in front of him and behind him. He saw the Moiety maintenance worker in front rowing, so he guessed that the armed rebel was rowing behind him. And also in front of him, he saw what looked like a still dummy, dressed in brown robes, which also began to stir. The stranger, he presumed?  
  
But the people surrounding him wasn't the only peculiar thing he saw. He glanced upwards at a gigantic pod-like thing that the boat was drifting towards. It was large, with branches that twisted in the shape of an enormous ball. It reminded Cho of the Great Tree in Riven, except a bit creepier.  
  
The maintenance Moiety pointed towards the peculiar pod-thing, and said, "Are we entering Tay?" And then he looked away. Perhaps the armed rebel nodded as an answer, because the boat was still headed towards the tree. Tay, he called it? But Cho did not have any time to think about it, because he was getting drowsier by the second.

* * *

Cho awoke again, but this time with full consciousness. Where was he? He was standing in a rounded room, entirely made of very hard wood. But this didn't look man-made. In fact, it looked like everything naturally went into place, except a shelf carved out of the wall, a window carved on the side, and a wooden door on the opposite side of window, which also had a window-like space in it.  
  
The shelf wasn't interesting; all it had was a bowl of food and a glass of water, which Cho wasn't eager to eat in case the Moiety had poisoned it with a drug of some sort. Neither was the window on the bare wall: all Cho could see was the sinisterly dark waters and a valley wall. The only thing that caught Cho's eye was window in the wooden door.  
  
The door was locked, but Cho didn't feel like exiting, anyway. There were strange, dark pod-like huts as far as the eye could see, that vaguely looked like Rivenese huts, except scarier-looking and more clustered. Was this the gigantic tree thing that Cho saw from the boat? Was this Tay?  
  
A woman was walking down a wooden bridge to the pod next to him. Nelah. She was a friend of his from school, and always criticized Gehn under her breath. He should have known she had entered the ranks of the Moiety. Nelah was carrying two books - a little red one, perhaps another diary, and a blue one the size of a Linking Book - covered by a red cloth. He heard a creak from a door next to his pod. She had entered another room.  
  
Cho pressed his right ear on the wall to listen to what Nelah said. She said softly in Rivenese tongue, "Greetings to you, messenger of Lord Atrus ('Messenger of Lord Atrus,' thought Cho, 'this must be the stranger!). I am Nelah, a friend of Lady Katran, who is now in the hand of our loathsome enemy, held in the dying Age of our fathers with our friends and families who must be saved. You come on ill tidings. Now that Gehn has broken through the walls of his own prison, he could now destroy countless civilizations to produce the shadow of his memories that he has always dreamed of. So many innocents will be tortured in the same way that our people of Riven have. But we will not let them."  
  
"Destroying lives and civilizations," thought Cho, "I never thought of it that way. But once she finishes, I'll signal Gehn and finally ruin the Moiety. I hope."  
  
"Here," continued Nelah, "Is the diary of our beloved savior ('Savior? More like a former classmate who complains too much!'). We cannot understand it ('At least I am not alone!'), but you probably could. And here is the Book that was taken from you upon your arrival ('The Book to D'ni! Mine!'). We're sorry for taking it from you. It was only to lure you here, and for a better understanding of what that villain Gehn has been doing to our people. But we know this Book's secret. We know that it is a Trap Book, designed by the mysterious wonders of Atrus for the sole purpose to contain Gehn in a more secure prison of darkness.  
  
"I'll be right back. I will fetch the passage back to Riven. It will only take a moment." And Nelah rushed out the pod. Cho's mind was racing. A Trap Book! He had never heard of it before, but it sounded dangerous. A "more secure prison of darkness?" That sounded horrible! He must warn Gehn. But then, Nelah's voice returned in the other room.  
  
"Now," she began, "Here is the Book back to our dying homeland. You shall trap Gehn, and free our beloved Katran. Then go to Allepo and open the Fissure, and Atrus shall come. Now please," her voice seemed to beg now, "Do not fail us. You are our only hope. The lives of all our kinsmen and all of the civilizations yet to be discovered - hopefully not by Gehn - depend on your actions. Good luck."  
  
A sound of a creaking door followed, and then the sound of linking. Cho immediately took out the portable imager that Gehn had given him, and pressed a button on it. Thank Kerath the Moiety didn't take it upon his arrival.  
  
"Gehn! Gehn, come in!" Gehn's face immediately emerged on the imager. He roared, "What is it now, servant? Do you see the stranger?" Cho softly said, "No sir, but I have great news. I..."  
  
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU LOST HIM, YOU GOODFORNOTHINGMISERABLEBAHROWHODOESNTEVENDESERVETOWORKFORME?!" Cho had never seen Gehn this ferociously angry. Gehn's mouth was wide open, as if it was a hatch opening wide enough to make room for an explosive power-marble. His whole face turned blood red, and he looked like he was ready to rip apart the next person he saw. It was a good thing that they were communicating only via imager!  
  
"I can explain. I found the Moi..."  
  
"YOU CAN'T WORM YOU'RE WAY OUT OF THIS ONE, YOU LITTLE DISGRACE! First, you greedily ask for a promotion..."  
  
"B-b-but sir, I was only..."  
  
"Then," Gehn's voice became increasingly loud and menacing with each sentence, "You lose Katran, the first ever occupant of the Cage."  
  
"It was a..."  
  
"And after that, you lose a stranger, as well as my token out of this hell-hole!"  
  
"It wasn't a Linking Book! Master, please..."  
  
"Master," said Gehn in a mocking way, "Please do. Master, please don't. Master, I'm sorry. Master, forgive me. Oh, GET A LIFE, CHO," his voice returned to loud and horrible, "I AM SICK OF YOU. YOU DID ALL THESE INEXCUSABLE ERRORS, AND NOW YOU LOST THAT WHO-KNOWS-WHO! YOU FAILED EVERY MISSION I'VE ASSIGNED YOU! THAT'S IT! I'M GOING TO GO BACK TO AGE 233, AND DO NOT EVEN THINK ABOUT DISTURBING ME UNLESS YOU'VE FOUND THE BOOK, OR HAVE THE STRANGER'S HEAD!"  
  
"Wait!"  
  
Too late. Gehn's head had retreated back into the imager, and vanished. Well, THAT was a lot of help. What was Cho going to do now? Then, he looked out the window, and had an idea. There was a window where the stranger was, right? And Cho was very experienced in tree climbing, and what was this place but a gigantic, surreal tree?

* * *

Gehn entered his office from the outside. Summon had been summoning him. Who? Hopefully not Cho. God, not Cho! If Cho was dangling like a flag from a mine car, he wouldn't care. If Cho was captured by the Moiety, he wouldn't care. If Cho was hanging by a thread from falling off a gigantic tree, he really, really, wouldn't care!  
  
But no, it wasn't Cho - thank Kerath! Instead, a man was standing there, who looked neither D'ni and Rivenese. Actually, he reminded him of Keta's people, the Amad. But he was wearing robes - brown robes - D'ni robes - Atrus's robes! This was that stranger!  
  
Gehn began, "I apologize for the cage. I'm afraid this situation has often required of me a more primitive code of conduct that I might otherwise have chosen." The stranger just nodded. He was quiet. Way too quiet. Gehn could not trust him, but he had something that he wanted. Something that would finally get him away from this house of savages and into a palace.  
  
"I am Gehn. I assume you're heard of me. Yes. Well, I expect you have acquired some false information of who I am now. Not that my son would have lied to you about me. No, not Atrus. It's just that... well, I'm sure he believes me to still be the depraved father I once was. Yes. I even tried to kill him once. God, if I had accomplished that, who knows what I would have become. Great father indeed who tries to murder his own son." The stranger nodded again. Is that all he could do? Was he a mute? Apparently, the fact that Gehn tried to kill Atrus wasn't a surprise.  
  
"Thankfully he trapped me on Age Five, a prison of my own creation. No books. No precious inks. No Ages to link to. Nothing but my own foolish ambitions. That was thirty years ago. Thirty years, thirty lifetimes, what does it matter? No sentence could be too harsh for the man I was. But I have changed. To be sure the deeds of my past can never be completely atoned for, but my mission was an honorable one." Thankfully?! All this was Atrus's fault! All his fault! And these thirty years were the worst of his life! He didn't deserve this at all. Not after what happened to his people, his father, and his wife; his beloved Keta!

* * *

"...Which brings me to the point of all of this (yes, finally! The point of all this). The linking book you brought with you. You're very fortunate to have recovered it. If I may."  
  
And the stranger handed him the Book with a grin on his face. Too wide of a grin to be trusted. Gehn flipped through the Book. At last. D'ni. Home.  
  
No. This can't be. This was all too perfect. There must be a catch. A trap, that's what. Think, Gehn, think! What did those ancient kings have? Food testers. Yes, food testers. To protect them from harm if anything was fishy. Let's see if this stranger thinks its okay for linking.  
  
Gehn held it up to the stranger and said, "Perhaps it would be best if you went through first." The stranger seemed shocked by the request, as if afraid. But slowly, he extended his hand toward the gateway image, and vanished. Gehn smiled. If the stranger went through, then he could, right? But the shocked image of the stranger's face implied that he was afraid of something... something in the Book, but what?  
  
Perhaps this would take a time to decide.

* * *

"One... two... three! Ughhhh!" Cho successfully heaved himself through the window of the other pod. He only had to congratulate himself on finally getting to the other room after straining both arms, almost getting caught by the Moiety twice, and almost falling off five times. Yes! And right in front of him was the price he sought: the Book back to Riven.  
  
But then, Cho heard a youthful voice, perhaps a younger rebel, from behind the other side of the door say, "Rayam, where is the stranger who was inside this cell?" It was quite a good thing that Cho was crouched down so he couldn't be seen through the door.  
  
"Do not, worry," said the voice of an older rebel, "He was that messenger of Atrus whom we have talked about. He is on his quest to defeat that demon of a man, Gehn, and rescue our Lady Katran and the rest of our brethren."  
  
"Will he succeed, sir?" asked the younger rebel.  
  
The older voice, whose name was probably Rayam, laughed, "Of course he will! You worry too much, Alatan!"  
  
The sound of this name hit Cho like a rock. Alatan! Rifih's son! At least he wasn't dead. But he didn't sound like he was suffering either. It sounded like he respected the Moiety; perhaps even admired the Moiety! Should he tell this to Rifih?  
  
"But what about the stranger in here, sir? Was he a friend of Atrus, too?"  
  
"No. He is a Maintainer of the vile one."  
  
"But were is he?"  
  
"What do you - MAKER PRESERVE US! SOUND THE ALARM!"  
  
Cho gasped. He quickly touched the Gateway Image, and once he did, he ran as fast as he could to the Village Island Fire-marble dome. Perhaps he could still prove to Gehn that he was faithful.

* * *

Gehn thought and thought. It was a trap. A trap for sure. But how could it be? What did Atrus know about the Art? His writings were barely D'ni material, so how could he organize a trap that Gehn couldn't get out of?  
  
And the Books. The precious Books inside D'ni. Gehn needed them, lest they would be used by unworthy writers like his unworthy son. Yes. He would risk his life for those Books. Those last bits of D'ni pride he needed.  
  
He put on his gloves, gripped his gun, and opened the Book. Was he sure? Yes, yes he was. He slowly extended his hand towards the Book, and touched the Image. Little did he know that it might be the last he could do freely. To sacrifice freedom for pure greed.

* * *

To be continued...  
  
Thanks for reviewing! Only two chapters to go! Please, keep up the good work at reviewing! 


	9. Failure

* * *

Catherine walked to the balcony of her prison. Again. She had done this countless times, for she had nothing else to do. Where was Atrus, or the messenger of Atrus that Nelah had told her about? She could barely make out the shapes of the other Rivenese islands on the horizon, but even from here, she could tell that they couldn't last too long.  
  
Suddenly, the sounds of a rising elevator echoed through the prison. Katran ran inside to see not Gehn, not Nelah, not a villager or rebel, but a mysterious man who looked like he was among Anna's kin. But he was wearing brown robes - Atrus's robes! And the elevator bars were on the other side of the platform. Catherine's rescuer had come at last!  
  
Katran ran into the elevator and pulled the lever. As the elevator lowered, Katran quickly stated, "We have to move quickly. Gehn's people may already know what's happened. Once we're back with the Moiety, we'll have time to regroup." The stranger had a large book in his hand. It looked like a Linking Book, but Catherine knew that it was a Trap Book: the very thing Gehn deserved. She said, "Can I see the Book?"  
  
Atrus's friend nodded and handed her the Book. Katran opened it to its Gateway Image, and she saw what looked like a D'ni chamber. But after a few seconds, the illusion vanished and was replaced with a bewildered Gehn surrounded by static. She gasped, "You did it. We're all free! You captured Gehn!"  
  
She couldn't help but smile. Gehn was gone. Gehn was gone! The villagers, the Moiety, all the civilizations Gehn could have discovered and then enslaved: they were all free! And now, Katran could be with Atrus again.  
  
The grin dropped, however, when Katran realized a more imminent problem. She quickly said, "But there's still his followers. I'm not sure what they'll do once they realize he's gone. We'll have to get the villagers to safety as soon as possible. You go back to the Temple Island and reopen the fissure. I know it's risky, but it's the only way to signal Atrus. I'll try to make it back there as soon as I can, but don't wait for me. Don't forget. The portal combination's in my journal. Good luck."  
  
She then snapped the wires leading to the prison with the side of her hand, and ran toward the fire-marble dome. "Don't worry, people of Riven. I will set you free. Do not worry, Atrus, my love. I'll be in your arms once more."

* * *

"Gehn! Wake up this is an emergency!"  
  
No answer.  
  
"Gehn!" Cho pressed the summoning button again. Not good. Gehn couldn't have been sleeping, and he couldn't have been outside, because Gehn could have heard his summons there, too. Not good. Had the stranger succeeded?  
  
Before Cho could think of an answer, he heard the sound of linking from behind him, followed by an angry woman's roar of "YOU AGAIN?!"  
  
BONK!  
  
Cho fell on the ground. Katran was standing over him, holding the Trap Book that looked exactly like it was before, except it had a large dent on the cover shaped like his head. That explained the feeling of a large, blunt object hitting him and the throbbing headache he just had.  
  
"Now," said Katran, "You shall remain silent about this meeting. Got it?" She then went over to the Prison Island Linking Book, and ripped out a page.  
  
"What are you doing," screamed Cho, slowly rising from the floor. Katran did not listen to him. Instead, she went to the Survey Island Linking Book, and ripped out a page.  
  
"I'll tell Gehn about this!" Yelled Cho, "He'll execute you this time!" Katran, who was about to rip out a page from the Jungle Linking Book, turned to Cho and an evil grin emerged on her face. "Gehn," she said, "Is not going anywhere for a while," she held up the Trap Book, "I'm afraid our visitor has, ahem, closed the book on him."  
  
"You..." hissed Cho, "Disgusting little Bahro!"  
  
Katran just laughed, "Curse at me all you want. Go ahead. I won't care. Now that Gehn is in his worthy prison, I could do anything I want and you cannot stop me. You, least of all."  
  
"SHUT UP, YOU!" Cho lunged his dagger at Katran, only to have it knocked out of his hand by a knife that Katran was holding in her pocket. Now it was her turn. She threw down her knife, and instead kicked Cho in the... well, let's just say that was a good shot, and it hurt... a lot.  
  
Cho hit the ground again, doubled up in pain. Katran grabbed his wrist and laughed, "Now then. Let's seek a haven for you, shall we?" She then placed his hand on the Book Assembly Island Linking Book.  
  
After he vanished, she ripped out a page from the Book. "Now back to the agenda," she said as she ripped a page out of the Jungle Island Book. The only Linking Book that she spared was the Temple Island Linking Book, which she linked through.

* * *

Cho groaned as he hobbled from the fire-marble dome on Book Assembly Island. He was in pain: both physically and mentally. Obviously, he had aches in his head, on the side of his body from hitting the floor, and Katran's kick in the... never mind. Including the pains from before, Cho was now aching all over. But he still was confident. He still had a chance to stop Katran. A probability of say, one out of a thousand.  
  
As he pressed the button to rotate the Gate Room, he heard a noise: A slow, loud mechanical noise. Urrrrrroom. As Cho walked through the Gate Room, he heard it again. Urrrrrroom. What could make such a noise?  
  
Urrrrrroom. There it was again. Wait a minute. The noise was coming from the - Urrrrrroom - Fissure Plateau! Cho gasped. It was too late to do anything now! All he could do was sit and watch.  
  
Urrr-crash!  
  
The silence of D'ni was interrupted once more. Still, the intruding noise was still the furious scratching of a fountain pen; more furious than it had ever heard before. Even the great writers who wrote marvelous Ages in this cavern in its period of life had never written with such intensity, or with such enthusiasm, or with such a reason.  
  
Atrus finished writing another sentence into the Book. There! That should last for... three minutes. Perhaps now he should look at the Gateway Image to see if it got any clearer. But with the thought of the Image, his mind drifted to his friend. His friend who was now somewhere in that dying Age. It was quite ironic that the first words Atrus said directly to him were, "Who the devil are you?" And now, Atrus wanted to reward him with anything in the world, not just for freeing him, but just for entering Riven. And also for keeping him company. That's all that he needed: simple company.  
  
And then, he flipped to the Image. Yahvo! The Image was darker than before, and it seemed to become more fuzzy than ever; even static-like! The only thing that Atrus could view was a mass of stars. Wait a second- the Image was looking downward. Of course! The Fissure! His friend was signaling him!  
  
Atrus thought. He had to continue his Writing. Oh, forget about Writing! Riven was now damaged beyond even temporary repair! But what if he only opened the Fissure by accident, and he hadn't captured Gehn or rescued Catherine? Can't be. Atrus instructed the stranger to first capture Gehn in the Trap Book, then rescue Catherine, and finally signal him, and such wonderful yet mysterious things like the Fissure can't just be opened by accident.  
  
But then, the Image suddenly turned jet black, and turned back to just static. Yes. He had to link now, and if not now, when? Riven couldn't last any longer. And so he linked into the Fifth Age. The last person to do so.  
  
"It can't be... no... but how?" Cho was appalled. The Fissure was open again! It was like seeing a ghost of a mysterious past... actually, it seemed even stranger than that.  
  
He heard voices in his head. Screams. Desperate cries of the transgressors who were cast into the Fissure and quickly vanished beyond all knowledge. Whatever happened to them? Did they safely land on wherever they landed - where would that be, anyway? Did they hit some surface at too hard of an impact, and died on contact? Or maybe they just fell... and that was all. Perhaps it was the Fissure was an infinite abyss and nothing more.  
  
The sky turned dark, but the clouds still were glowing with an uneasy brownish light. The sun vanished into what was like an unpredicted eclipse, and stars winked into place in the sudden night. The earth shook like a gigantic animal waking from hibernation, just as it did 30 years before. Even as Cho watched, he knew that Riven's fate was sealed.  
  
Suddenly, a linking sound pierced the sounds of doom, coming from the Cage, stuck in the open position. A man bowed, and exited the Cage, as he took off his goggles. Who was he? He was wearing D'ni clothing, and the goggles looked like Gehn's. His pupils were smaller than normal, and he looked so much like... no! Could it be? Yes, it was Atrus!  
  
Atrus ran up to the stranger and said something that Cho couldn't understand. But whatever it was, he was sure that Atrus was concerned: perhaps about whether or not Gehn was gone. Cho felt a surge of humiliation. But then, Katran came and called Atrus's name. Quickly, the two ran to each other, and embraced.  
  
"Well, just GREAT!" muttered Cho. It seemed that everyone that he opposed always got the better endings. Katran was free, and got Atrus back. Atrus got Katran back, and his father was gone. The stranger... well, Cho didn't know exactly how this benefitted the stranger, but the stranger got the feeling of pride that Cho never felt: the feeling of a job well done.  
  
The two then said something to the stranger: most likely words of gratitude. This made Cho even more jealous and humiliated by the second. Why couldn't HE ever win?  
  
Katran linked into a Book that Atrus was holding. Gone.  
  
Cho groaned. That was the Linking Book he could have gotten all this time! And here it was now, in Atrus's hands, and there was nothing he could do about it.  
  
Atrus linked, and let the Book fall into the open Fissure. Gone.  
  
There it went. The goal Cho was after all this time. The only way he could get it now (but who would he hand it to) let alone the only way out of here was to enter the Fissure. Never!  
  
But the most disturbing parting there was that of the stranger. He simply looked down into the Fissure, and the rocks under him trembled before falling. And then he just... fell in. Into the Fissure without a word.  
  
Cho sighed. What could he do now? Perhaps he could find Rifih, or another Guildsman. But how could that help his situation. As far as he knew, he was trapped on a dying world...To be continued...  
  
Thank you to all who reviewed so far! Keep up the good work. Only one chapter left! I'll write up the ending as soon as I can! 


	10. An Ending?

I realized the moment I fell into the fissure that the book would not be destroyed as I had planned. It continued falling into that starry expanse, of which I had only a fleeting glimpse. I have tried to speculate where it might have landed, but I must admit that such a conjecture is futile. Still, questions about whose hands might one day hold my Myst book are unsettling to me. I know my apprehensions might never be allayed, and so I close, realizing that perhaps the ending has not yet been written.  
  
- Atrus

* * *

"Hey, Cho!" Cho turned around, and saw Rifih running towards him.  
  
"What happened," gasped Rifih, noticing his cuts, scratches, bruises, torn and singed clothing, and... ah, yes... third degree burns.  
  
Rubbing his foot on the ground, he replied, "Remember the job Gehn assigned me?"  
  
"Oh, yeah! How did it go?"  
  
Cho's mouth dropped to the floor, "How... did it go," Cho breathed, "How... did it go," he began to approached Rifih in a menacing way, and Rifih began to step backwards, "HOW DID IT GO?! I was dangled like a flag on the back of a mine car, had to walk through a stuffy vent, got really, REALLY tired from walking all day and hiding behind anything in sight, got CAPTURED by the MOIETY, peeved Gehn for the last time, failed the Guild and let KATRAN GET AWAY, and you ask HOW DID IT GO?!?!"  
  
Sweat drops dropped like autumn leaves from Rifih's face, "I just thought that I..."  
  
"You just thought like an idiot," roared Cho, approaching Rifih like a vicious beast cornering his prey, forgetting that Rifih was a friend and thinking of him as a fly ready to be swatted, "I did all this just for Lord Gehn's sake, and what do you do to help me? NOTHING! All you do is whine about your oh-so-precious Alatan, who left us for the Moiety and LIKES IT!"  
  
Rifih stuttered, as if he was suddenly pierced by a Moiety dart, and slowly said, "Leave him out of this!"  
  
"Oh, yeah?! Well how about this?" Cho took a deep breath: "ALATANALATANALAT- ANALATANALATANALA..."  
  
Rifih couldn't take it anymore. He yelled and lunged toward Cho, but was pinned to the ground. Cho held his dagger to his throat. Rifih gasped, "How can you do this? We're friends, remember? Buddies! Companions! Pals! Whatever you want to call it, but how can you do this?"  
  
"How?" hissed Cho, "You have everything. Respect from Gehn. Respect from the community. A family. A real life! And I? What do I have? Nothing, that's what. Do you know what my dreams were ever since Katran arrived? I dreamed that I would finally have Gehn's respect after giving him a Linking Book to D'ni. I would be the vice-ruler of a thousand Ages. I would have 10 Ages all to myself, with golden palaces, each 1,000 spans tall. I would roll around in gold; it would be so plentiful that they would be like mere play-toys in my eyes. I would have a bride in each arm. I would sip wine like it was water. I would wear jewels and hides of all sorts, and all would bow down to me. I can hear the commoners chanting, 'All hail Cho. All hail Cho! ALL HAIL CHO!'"  
  
Rifih gasped, "What has become of you? Cho, look at yourself! You're a monster!"  
  
Cho paused. What had happened to him? He had become greedy and selfish - he was no longer the kind and humble servant he had been made to be. He had become a shadow of Gehn!  
  
He said, "Sorry. Here, let me help you up." And he helped Rifih up. Now he understood the error of his ways at last. "So..." he sighed, "How exactly are we going to get out of here?  
  
Rifih said, "There's always Age 233..."  
  
KABOOM! An explosion rocked the side of the gigantic dome on the other side of the island, probably caused by a disturbance in the power-marbles on top of it. "But," Rifih quickly added, "It wouldn't have supplied us for more than a day, anyway."  
  
"I have another solution."  
  
The two turned around to see who said this.  
  
"You..." hissed Cho. It was Nelah. He and Rifih unsheathed their daggers, but Nelah just laughed.  
  
"What's so funny," said Rifih, sheathing his dagger. Nelah said, "Its just funny how you should threaten me, who bears the ticket to starting your new lives." She then took a Book out of her robes: the Tay Linking Book.  
  
She held the Book open for a minute. Rifih, after examining it for a while, said, "So. The Moiety does have an Age after all. That explains everything! The Book thefts, the fire-marble dome usage, the disappearances."  
  
He looked at the giant tree of Tay, and sighed, "I do not have much of a choice. But how can I trust the Moiety? But how can I not? There is nowhere else to go." He extended his hand towards the Book.  
  
"Rifih," gasped Cho, "You can't! You're a Maintainer!"  
  
"Alas," sighed Rifih, "I must renounce my title and move on to this new future. Besides, I only want to see my son once more." The last two words seemed to echo as Cho's best friend left to the Moiety Age.  
  
The Moiety woman tilted the Book towards Cho, and said, "Would you care to follow?"  
  
Cho snapped, "Why should I?"  
  
"Well, your friend linked, so I assume..."  
  
"You assume that I will embarrass myself by joining my enemies?"  
  
"We are not trying to insult you. We just..."  
  
"Forget it!"  
  
Nelah rolled her eyes as she linked away.

* * *

The Book to Tay lay on the sandstone of the Fissure Plateau. Cho could have picked it up. He could have linked. He thought about it once or twice. He almost actually entered. But he refused. He had no honor in him to do so.  
  
Honor. A funny thing. It could be built up for so many years, taking ages to do so, yet in a few bizarre incidents in could get up and leave like steam from boiling water.  
  
Cho tried so hard and so long to gain honor. To receive his well-deserved respect from Gehn, from his friends, and all of Riven.  
  
And then he asked for a promotion.  
  
And then he got darted.  
  
And then he let the Moiety find the access code for the domes.  
  
And then he freed Katran.  
  
And then he let the stranger escape.  
  
And then he let Riven be destroyed.  
  
He was the only one left. The village was empty. The temple lay in ruin; perhaps as one last prank by the Moiety. Cho saw a villager earlier; he looked like he was more devout towards Gehn. But when Cho followed him, the man vanished, though Cho saw unusually large bubbles in the lava on Jungle Island and he heard a loud shriek. Gone.  
  
How could he start over again? How could the people of Tay not recognize him as the fool who let Riven die? There was no future for him. Nothing.  
  
"Arrrggggghhhhhhh!"  
  
In his frustration, Cho kicked a rock into the water, but something strange happened. The water that flew upwards as a result of the splash began to float. But there was no heat source... right? Then, the ocean began to rise. Something had to be pushing it upwards... or pulling it.  
  
He looked up. The moon! The Rivenese moon! It was gigantic, taking up most of the sky. Cho remembered it at least five times smaller when he was younger, and it slowly grew due to its defected orbit. Its gravitational pull was so powerful that bits of sand and small pebbles began to rise into the air!  
  
A great flood began. To protect himself, Cho ran into the first, but probably not best, place he could find: the Fissure Plateau Cage. There! That was good shelter from the water!  
  
CRASH! Cho looked around. The Cage was closed? But how? It was stuck in the open position! Perhaps a drifting rock knocked out the Moiety dagger that jammed it, and another one pushed the level to the closed position. What horrible luck!  
  
Could this get any worse? Yes it could. The Cage fell over and began to roll... and roll... and roll. Cho worried were he was going. Maybe he would hit a rock, giving him to cut open t the bars with his dagger? No. The bars were too hard, and with Cho's luck he knew the rolling wouldn't stop. Maybe he would fall into the ocean? Uh, Oh!  
  
Cho suddenly felt a sickening feeling of falling of a pit. Then, the Cage stopped moving. But then it turned so that the bars faced the ground...  
  
The Star Fissure! Cho was lying on top of the Fissure! What could he do now? He already felt the cold breath of the expanse of stars. If he tried to cut open the bars, he would fall in. He couldn't choose. The choice was already made for him: the bars were breaking under him. Not that he was heavy, but the Fissure was pulling him in.  
  
He heard the bars groaning, ready to plummet into the space. Cho held his breath. SNAP! He was living his worst nightmare.  
  
This was it. The Fissure. He recognized this inside of the expanse from his dreams. Once, he dreamed he was walking with Rifih on the Plateau, and the steel plate covering the Fissure gave away under him. The dream continued. He hit a bottom, but bounced back up to the top. And before he reached the top, he fell back down.  
  
In another dream, he was chasing a rebel across the Plateau, and the steel once again collapsed. He looked down as he fell, and there was a large, hard, dark surface, filled with spikes. He was so relieved when he realized that the fall into the Fissure was actually the fall off of his bed.  
  
And in the last dream, he was eating lunch very unwisely on top of the Fissure, and it... you know. And Cho just kept falling...  
  
But now he was living his dream! He couldn't find himself on the floor of his hut again, unless that's what lay on the bottom.  
  
A feeling of drowsiness went over Cho, as well as a multitude of thoughts. What would Katran do now that she's free? Would Alatan accept Rifih as a father again? What would happen to the Rivenese in Tay? He didn't know. Perhaps whatever happened was the will of Yahvo, whatever the end was.  
  
"Rifih, my friend," Cho whispered as the opening to the Fissure grew ever distant and he became even more drowsy than ever, "I wish you the best. Good luck."  
  
One last thought passed through his mind: of how funny it was how a random guard could affect the course of fate.

* * *

Now I understand. Endings and beginings are within the Fissure, that Riven cleft of stars that acts as both wall and a bridge. And though I am unable to understand how, the very flow of stars that brought my Myst book into worthy hands I am sure served as a safe passage home for my friend. The Age of Riven is closed forever, but the people of Riven are free. And now I am at rest, understanding that in Books, and Ages, and life the ending can never truly be written.  
  
- Atrus.  
  
The End  
  
Thanks to all of my reviewers. You've been a great help! I'll write a new story soon (but not about Cho), if I could think of it first.  
  
As Atrus says, the ending can never truly be written!  
  
(P.S. I forgot to add in the disclaimer that I do not own Nelah and I do own the portable imager in chapter 8) 


End file.
